Wash-board



(No Model.)

0. D. FULLER WASH BOARD. No. 455,036. Patented June 30, 1891.-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES D. FULLER, or KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN.

WASH-BOARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 455,036, dated June 30, 1891. Application filed November 15, 1890. Serial No. 371,489. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES D. FULLER, of Kalamazoo, in the county of Kalamazoo and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in .Wash-Boards; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in wash-boards.

Hitherto various plans have been devised for draining water from wash-boards during the process of washing, but never as yet has there been any provision made in wash-boards having close board backs for draining the moisture from the joints of the board Where the back board, front plate, and side bars are united. It is in these joints at the edges of the metal plate that water is liable to accumulate and remain after the board is put aside to dry, and from the fact that no provision has ever been made for draining and ventilating the board at these points the parts have gradually rotted and become loose and the boards have been in consequence of this rendered useless, or practically so, long before they would naturally become worn out from ordinary usage.

The object of my invention is to provide means for the draining of any water which may accumulate at these joints, and also to thoroughly ventilate the joints by forming air passages adjacent to the edges of the back board or the joint formed between this board and the side bars; and the invention consists in a back board, in combination with the other parts of the board, provided with openings at its edges for ventilating the board at theedges and draining any water from the board which may accumulate at the joint.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of my improved washboard, one side bar being removed. Fig. 2 is a view in rear elevation. Fig. 3 is a transverse section, and Fig. 4 is a modification.

A A represent the side bars of the washboard, and B and C are the front and back boards, respectively. The front board is preferably made of zinc and corrugated in the usual manner; but this particular metal is not necessary, and any other metal or material may be used. The back board '0 rests against the inner edges of the front plate, so that air-spaces are formed all along between the two plates. The back board is provided at its side edges with kerfs or slits a a, cut for a short distance into the board,and these serve as ventilators toallow air to pass freely into the joint, and also to allow any water therein to drain out, so that in a short time after the washing is completed the board dries out in the inside as much as it does outside.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4. ordinary perforations a a are shown in lieu of the slits or kerfs.-

It may be added in conclusion that the back board serves as a support for the front board at all points of its surface, although it only touches the ridges of the board, but it touches them throughout their entire length; and in addition to the board being made solid and firm by the use of the back board continuous air-spaces are made from one edge to the other, so that the entire interior is kept .dr

'l o summarize would emphasize the fact that I do not claim this device as an adjunct to the washing process itself. Many devices have been invented-as the patent to Fuller, No. 836,910; patent to Bellows, No. 115,416; patent to one Kauffmanhaving for their objects the draining away of the dirty suds to hasten the cleansing process during the immediate act of washing; but my device is purely andsolely a preservative one, having no virtue whatever till the washing is over and the board hung up to dry.

I would further call attention to the fact that this invention applies directly to aclass of boards which generally or always use a thin plate of zinc as a rubbing-board. WVhere it is otherwise, the board is made after the style known as solid zincs, where one heavy sheet forms a rubbing-surface on eachside,

the thickness of the zinc giving sufficient rigidity to require no wooden supporting back boards; but this, while durable, is much more expensive. It is Well known thatathin sheet of zinc will wear a long time if it is kept dry; but rot and corrosion are sure to take place rapidly in this class of boards which use the thinnest plates of zinc ever put into washboards, especially where the depressions come into contact with the wet inside of the wooden baok,which I have found by actual observation never gets thoroughly dry from one Week to another; but by the employment of this device a wash-board is provided where the full wear of the zinc is obtained, as the full inside, especially at the joints, Where the worst rotting occurs, is fully and thoroughly ventilated, as above described.

It is evident that other slight changes might be made in the form and arrangement of the various parts described Without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not Wish to limit myself to the exact construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

CHARLES D. FULLER.

In presence of- FRANK D. FULLER, J. F. COWGILL. 

